TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The court hearing for former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) regarding allegations of corruption in the Core Pacific City redevelopment project concluded on Thursday (Sept. 5) at 4:30 p.m., with the court clerk set to notify both parties of the judge's decision before 5:30.
The Taipei District Court (TPD, 台北地方法院) held a detention hearing starting at 2 p.m., following a procedural hearing at 9:30 a.m. The morning session focused on procedural matters, including the presentation of new evidence and review procedures. The court spent about 30 minutes on these issues before deciding to hold the formal detention hearing in the afternoon.
Prosecutors have previously accused Ko of violating the "Anti-Corruption Act" (貪汙治罪條例) and requested his detention. The Taiwan High Court (台灣高等法院) overturned an initial ruling, which had released Ko without bail, citing his active involvement in the case.
The court initially ruled on Sept. 2 that Ko should be released without bail, stating that he was not a member of the Taipei Urban Planning Commission (台北市都市計畫委員會) and lacked the necessary expertise to be directly involved. However, prosecutors appealed with additional evidence, and the High Court on Wednesday reversed the decision, mandating further investigation into Ko's role.
The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office (台北地檢署) and the Agency Against Corruption (廉政署) have been investigating the alleged corruption scandal for several months. Last week, they conducted a large-scale search and detained Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), the chairman of Core Pacific Group (威京集團), Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), and Ying's assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) on bribery charges.
